Because communication is so important in our daily lives, aphasia can lead to complications with work, family, friends, and daily activities. It can also lead to anger, embarrassment and alienation, and even cause people with aphasia to lose interest in their previous hobbies, furthering their feelings of isolation. Additionally, other conditions may present in tandem, such as difficulty moving around, loss/reduction of control over their dominant side, and problems with memory and thinking. Given the myriad complications to which aphasia can give rise, better understanding the condition can go a long way towards reducing misconception and stigmas.

Treatment usually starts with addressing the underlying cause of the aphasia. Following brain injuries, the brain is often able to rewire itself, through a process known as neuroplasticity, effectively finding new ways to perform previous executed tasks. In this way, people with aphasia often see great improvements in the first few months. When aphasia remains beyond this initial recovery period, speech language therapy becomes the main tool used to help people improve their ability to communicate. Not only by restoring their ability to speak, but through teaching coping strategies to help them communicate using all the tools available at their disposal, from hand gestures to body language.

Factors that can influence the level of improvement include the underlying cause of the aphasia, the language centres of the brain damaged, and what extent, as well as the age and overall health of the patient.

Friends and family play a vital role in rehabilitating people with aphasia, especially with rebuilding confidence, and breaking down barriers to communicating with loved ones.